The Visual Resources Library is happy to help students and faculty with various processing requests to support academic research at Macalester. Please see the sections below for more information on requesting digitization or printing.

Processing, Printing and Support Requests

The Visual Resources Library handles a variety of requests to meet the academic need of Macalester students, staff and faculty. Please click on the categories here to learn more about each type of request. All digitization requests must meet the criteria for Fair use. For more information on Fair Use, please see our page on Copyright Information.

Image and Document Processing & Digitization

To support the educational goals of Macalester College’s Art & Art History Department, the Visual Resources Library adds digitized images to its internal collection upon request. We scan from printed materials and slides, cataloging these images for access in the Macalester Art History Digital Collection. Images are intended only for research and study, not for publication. Limited chapters and articles from print sources scanned by the VRL are for course readings only. Service is limited to single book chapters and journal articles not already available in electronic form. Digitization requests are only accepted if the material meets the criteria for Fair Use.

Before submitting a request for digitization, please check ArtStor, Art Full Text, CAMIO, or other licensed sources to see if the image or text already exists in digital form available to the Macalester community.

When submitting requests for digitization, please fill out one of the following forms and include it with the book or email it to visualresourceslibrary@macalester.edu. Please do not use post-it notes or bookmarks- they can fall out of the book or leave sticky residue on pages.

For a few items, use the Small form; for larger requests, use the Large form. Please allow at least two weeks for turnaround. We can almost always accommodate rush orders of a reasonable size, but our staffing and workload may affect rush-order turnaround – it’s best to plan ahead whenever possible. Please note that the VRL is closed during academic break periods and holidays, and please plan accordingly when submitting requests for processing.

Technical and Administrative Support

The Visual Resources Library staff will be happy to help Art Department faculty and staff check or set up equipment for a class, lecture or event. Please give us at least two weeks of advance notice so we can make sure the equipment is checked in and properly working. We can also help with the creation of flyers, posters, or promotional materials for events or lectures. Please email us with the title, date, time and location of the event; any text or images to include on the poster; information about the speaker; and the required dimensions of the final product. Please provide as much advance notice as possible to allow time for design, printing and posting.

Large Format Printing

The Visual Resources Library (VRL) has a large format printer that is available for the faculty, staff and students of the Art & Art History Department. If you would like to have a class project printed, please contact the VRL at visualresourceslibrary@macalester.edu or x 6691.

Submitting files to print:

All files should be at least 300 dpi. If you have tiny details or text that you’d like to be crisp when printed, please submit the file in a higher resolution such as 600 dpi.

Preferred file formats are .psd or .ai- this will allow us to adjust as needed for the best print quality. However, all file types will print, including .jpg, .tif, .png and .pdf.

The VRL will print projects on its roll of quality matte paper, which is 42 inches wide. We can fit several small items onto one large piece of paper but if you have smaller individual items to print (letter, legal, 11 x 17, etc.), please contact:

They can print on various paper types including matte and glossy. Please give them as much advance notice as possible and send projects in as close to the start of the day as you can to give them sufficient processing time.